William Ashford

William Ashford
William Ashford by William Cuming
Born	1746 Birmingham, England
Died	17 April 1824(1824-04-17) (aged 77–78)
Known for	landscape painting

William Ashford (1746 - 1824) was an English landscape painter who worked exclusively in Ireland.

Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746, baptised 20 May 1746 in St Martin's parish church. He was the son of Richard Ashford. Little is known about his education, but it is presumed he received some technical or artistic training in England. He moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1764 at the age of eighteen after having obtained an appointment in the Ordnance Office through the interest of the Surveyor-General, Ralph Ward. His job, at least in the early years, consisted of checking on the armaments stored at forts and barracks across Ireland.

Ashford married circa 1775, the name of his wife is unknown. The couple had two sons and one daughter. His son, Daniel, became an artist but did not receive the same acclaim as his father. The architect, James Gandon, designed his home in Sandymount, County Dublin in 1792 where he lived for the rest of his life.

Within three years of his arrival, Ashford was exhibiting with the Society of Artists on William Street. At first, he was an amateur painter specialising in flower paintings and still life, but in 1772 he exhibited his first landscape at the Dublin Royal Society of Arts. He turned professional soon after. After the death of Thomas Roberts, Ashford became the pre-eminent landscaper in Ireland.

He was elected President of the Irish Society of Artists in 1813, was a founding member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, becoming its first elected President in 1823.

He also exhibited in England, at The Royal Academy in London from 1775 and with the Society of Artists from 1777. Despite becoming a fellow of the Society the next year, Ashford only exhibited there sporadically, works shown there including a set of views of North Wales. From 1806 he showed at the newly-established British Institution. Some of his pieces seen there had been painted some years earlier, including some subject pictures showing scenes from Shakespeare. Ashford lived at a number of addresses in Dublin and London, travelling back and forth exhibiting as his career progressed.

Ashford was among the most respected landscape painters of Ireland in his time, on par with Thomas Roberts and George Barret. Most of his works were topographical views of country seats and well-ordered parks and his principal patrons were, therefore, the nobility and landowners. Institutions such as Society of Artists in Ireland, the Academy of Artists in Dublin, and the Cork Society for Promoting Fine Arts exhibited his work. He was most prolific from 1777–1813, selling numerous paintings at auction.